Love to travel? Worried about leaving your job behind for a few weeks? Take heart. Making money while traveling is not a problem anymore and the combination of the two need not limit your income at the expense of your relaxation.
Before suggesting a few of the best hiking trails in the United States let me first provide some pointers for making money as you move along the trails. Rule of thumb: Never leave home without your laptop—or smartphone. Whether you are self-employed or salaried, these tech devices keep you closely linked to your home base.
If your work is in the financial arena, you can continue doing everything you would have done if you were sitting in your home or office– execute trades on any global stock market, follow the most up-to-date currency rates or be the first to grab that foreclosed piece of real estate. With the click of a tab, you have made your money for the day.
Keeping that in mind let me list some highly recommended hiking trails.
The Rocky Mountains is the best place to start your treks and the West Maroon Creek Trail in Colorado is packed with gorgeous hikes. The trail is a challenging 10 miles from start to finish and takes you along a lush valley over the 12,480-foot Maroon Pass where flowers in hues of white, yellow, red and purple reach several feet in height.
Staying on the west coast, we come to Angel’s Landing Zion National Park in Utah, a short 4.8 mile trip into Zion’s main red rock canyon to a summit of 6,000 feet in elevation and along a trail offering stunning 360-degree views of the popular Angel’s landing and the Virgin River.
If you make your money as a blogger, this might be the right spot to pull out your laptop and start documenting your trip. What could be more intriguing to your readers than a full blown account of your amazing surroundings? Add some stunning close-ups of the local foliage and natural habitat and you’ve got yourself a winning account that any publication would jump at publishing. Or sell the pictures separately to online sites and make some money to pay for your trip.
Another recommended hiking trail is in Montana along the Highline Trail, a lovely path inside Glacier national Park. This 7.6 mile path is mostly flat but offers spectacular views of the glacial meadows and rugged peaks of the Continental Divide and of Lake McDonald thousands of feet below. Lucky photographers might be able to capture a snapshot of a local grizzly, but might have to settle for one of a local mountain goat or bighorn sheep.
Hikers looking for shorter but strenuous trails will find some on the east coast of the country. The Precipice Trail in Acadia National Park in Maine is a steep 1.6 mile hike that offers ocean views that traverse the 1,000 feet climb along the narrow ledges on the east face of Champlain Mountain. This trek is not recommended for people with fear of heights.
Traveling across America on foot or by car is always a fascinating experience and can offer a plethora of opportunities to continue working while vacationing or even making extra money along the way.
